Wringer with rotary guard means



Oct 1967 R. A. BRENNER ETAL 3,347,968

WRINGER WITH ROTARY GUARD MEANS Filed Dec. 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. /05[r/4 ZEZ L /V/VL P Marae h/ Cars Bier m 'vw MW ATTORNEYS l31967 R. A. BRENNER ETAL 3,34

WRINGER WITH ROTARY GUARD MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 15, 1964INVENTOR. 9055974 525710144? Marae W Car/45597 W ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent Ofifice 3,347,068 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 3,347,068 WRINGER WITHROTARY GUARD MEANS Robert A. Brenner, St. Joseph, and Victor W.Cuthbert,

Sodus, Mich, assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, Mich, acorporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 418,499 7 Claims.(Cl. 68-266) This invention relates to improvements in a wringer withrotary guard means, and more particularly to a wringer having wringerrolls under pressure and provided with rotary means to give the operatora gentle and painless warning that there is danger of the operatorsfingers becoming engaged between the pressure rolls, the invention beinghighly desirable for use on wringers associated with household clotheswashing machines, although the invention will have other uses andpurposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

As is known to those skilled in the art, in the past many and variousmechanisms have been provided for quickly releasing the pressure betweenwringer rolls in the event a foreign object such as fingers or a handentered between the rolls. These mechanisms operated in response topressing, pushing, or pulling a handle or bar by the operator in somecases; in other cases, by way of an instinctive movement on the part ofthe operator in response to sudden pain; and in still other instances toexcess roll separation caused by the entry of a finger or hand betweenthe rolls. It is at once apparent that while such devices are highlydesirable on a wringer, as a safety medium they are only effective aftersome injury has occurred to the operator, a child, or some other partyunfortunately having a finger or hand caught between the rolls.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide means on a wringer assembly for giving the operatorgentle and painless warning that her fingers are too closely approachingthe nip between the pressure rolls.

Also a feature of this invention is the provision of means associatedwith the wringer assembly to warn the operator by way of rollingcontact, uninjurious pressure, or both, that her hand is dangerouslyclose to the pressure rolls.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a wringer assemblyadditional means or an added element which performs the dual function ofwarning the operator that her hand is too near the nip of the pressurerolls and also to aid in feeding clothing or other material to thepressure rolls.

It is also a desideratum of this invention to provide in a wringerassembly including a pair of pressure rolls an added roller which formsan additional nip with the drainboard means or one of the wringer rollsto assist in feeding clothing or other material to the nip of thepressure rolls.

Still a further object of this invention resides in the provision of awringer assembly having a pair of pressure rolls and an additional rollwhich establishes a nip with a part of the assembly to assist in feedingclothes or other material to the nip with the pressure rolls, thearrangement being such that reversal of the rolls automatically causesreversal of position of the added roll.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front view, in modest perspective, of awringer assembly embodying principles of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the structure of FIGURE 1 with the uppershroud removed;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially asindicated by the line III-III of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary View similar in character to FIGURE 1 showinga modified form of the instant invention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially asindicated by the line VV of FIGURE 4, with the shroud removed from thewringer assembly; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar in character to FIGURE 3, but showing a stilldifferent form of the invention.

As shown on the drawings:

Since the general construction of a conventional washing machine wringeris Well known to those skilled in the art, parts of the illustrationsare in diagrammatic form rather than detailed.

In the illustrated embodiment of the instant invention, as seen inFIGURES 1, 2 and 3, a conventional wringer is shown comprising a frame 1in the general, configuration of a shroud and shaped to providedrainboards 2 and 3 on opposite sides of superposed pressurized wringerrolls 4 and 5 mounted on shafts 6 and 7 respectively. The upper part ofthe wringer may be enclosed with any suitable form of shrouding asindicated at 8 in FIGURE 1. The upper portion of the wringer assembly isprovided with the usual pressure release bar 9, a pull or push on whichby the operator will release the pressure between the rolls 4 and 5 in awell known manner.

Pivoted, one to each end of the upper roll shaft 6, is a pair of links10 and 11, the pivotal connection with the shaft being at one end ofeach link. The other ends of the links receive the ends of a shaft 12which carries a feeder and guard roll 13.

The wringer rolls 4 and 5 and the feeder roll 13 are composed offriction material such as rubber or the like. Between the upper wringerroll 4 and feeder roll 13 at each end of the rolls, a friction gear 16mounted on a stud shaft 17 is disposed, the stub shaft being rotativelym0unted in an intermediate portion of the respective link 10 or 11. Eachlink and its connections with the respective shafts 6 and 12 and thestub shaft 17 is preferably covered with a small shroud 18 to protectthe operator. The links, feeder roll, shroud and friction gears comprisethe feeder roll assembly.

The wringer roll 4 or the roll 5 as the case may be is driven in a wellknown manner by a wringer head containing forward and reverse gears. Theother wringer roll is driven by virtue of contact with the first roll.The feeder roll 13 is positively driven from the wringer roll 4 by wayof the friction gears 16.

The feeder roll assembly may be likened to a gear train and is biased inthe direction of rotation of the driving wringer roll 4 due to frictionwithin the bearings of the feeder roll assembly. In FIGURE 3 wringerroll 4 is shown rotating in a clockwise direction and the feeder rollassembly is shown in its solid line position on the right side of thewringer rolls and being driven downwardly. A stop member 14 is mountedon drainboard 3 and engages shroud 18 to stop the downwardly biasedmovement of the feeder roll assembly and to provide the desired nip sizeillustrated at 19. The downward force exerted by the feeder rollassembly is regulated by control of bearing friction within the feederroll assembly. The greater the friction of the bearings, the greaterwill be the downward force of the feeder roll assembly. It is desibarleas hereinafter explained that the force be insufficient to injure thefingers of the user. However, with the embodiment of FIGURE 3 the forcemust be greater than the weight of thefeeder roll assembly so that uponreversing the direction of rotation of wringer roll 4 the feeder rollassembly will be carried over or walk to the opposite side of thewringer rolls.

The operation of the assembly is simple and effective. Asdiagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 3, the operator feeds clothing 20or the like up the drainboard 3 and is aided in so feeding the clothesby the rotation of the feeder roll 13. Should the operators finger 21enter the nip 19 between the feeder roll andthe drainboard, the operatoris at once conscious of the rotary movement of the feeder roll againsther finger and also of a slight pressure on the finger, squeezing itbetween the feeder roll 13 and the drainboard, warning the operator thather finger is dangerously close to the nip between the wringer rolls 4and 5 and permitting the oeprator to quickly withdraw her finger. Uponthe entry of clothing or the finger of an operator beneath the feederroll 13, the feeder roll is elevated from the full line position ofFIGURE 3 to the dotted line position, above the drainboard 3 and theoperators finger is not injured but the effecvtive warning is given.

If the wringer rolls 4 and 5 are reversed in direction, the links and11, the friction gear 16-16, and the feeder roll 13 will, in effect,walk around the upper wringer roll 4 and assume the dotted line positionon the left-hand side of FIGURE 3 over the drainboard 2, as previouslyexplained. Anip 22 is thereby established between the feeder roll 13 andthe drainboard 2, a stop again regulating the size of the nip.

The eperators fingers or hand are effectively prevented from enteringbetween the upper wringer roll 4 and the feeder roll 13 by means of aguard 23 which is preferably in the form of a transparent plastic stripfixedly mounted between the two small shrouds 1818.

In FIGURES 4 and 5, we have illustrated a different form of the instantinvention. In this case, the wringer frame, drainboard and pressurerolls are the same as previously described.

In this instance, however, a link 24 is connected to each end of theupper wringer roll shaft 6 by means of an elongated slot 25 in an end ofthe link. The shaft is received in the slot, and a spring 26 secured tothe link 24 at one end, with the other end bearing against the shaft 6,is disposed in the slot and tends to urge one end of the slot againstthe shaft. .In the other end of the links the ends of a shaft27 carryinga feeder roll 28 are rotatively mounted. The springs 26 thereupon urgethe feeder. roll 28 against the upper wringer roll 4 to establish a niptherebetween. The spring pressure, while sufiicient to cause rotation ofthe feeder roll 28 and to cause clothing indicated at 29 to be fedbetween the feeder roll and upper wringer roll to the nip between thetwo wringer rolls 4 and 5,-is not sufficient to cause injury to. thefinger 30 of the operator should it enter between the feeder roll andupper wringer roll. In that event, the upper wringer roll along with thelinks 24 will move from the full line position on the righthand side ofFIGURE 5 to the dotted line position, against the force of the springs.Here, again, the operator is effectively warned that her finger isdangerously close to the nip between the wringer rolls by rollingcontact and squeezing pressure, enabling the operator to Withdraw herfinger before it is injured.

Should the wringer rolls be reversed, the links 24 and feeder roll 28will assume the dotted line position on the left-hand side of FIGURES.The pressure release bar 9, if positioned where shown must extendoutwardly sufi'i ciently far to permit such changeover movement of thefeeder roll. Any suitable stop mechanism, such as a pair of studs 31projecting from the shroud or frame into position to contact the links24 may be utilized to prevent the feeder roll from ever contacting thelower wringer roll 5.

Should it be desired for any reason to have a feeder roll on each sideof the wringer rolls 4 and 5 over the respective drainboards 2 and 3,this may be done as shown 4 in FIGURE 6, wherein the structure abovedescribed in connection with FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 is shown in theright-hand side of the figure, and an identical arrangement as indicatedby the numerals 11a, 12a, 13a, 18a and 23a, is provided on the left-handside of the figure. Stop pins 32 and 33 projecting from the shroud orframe may be mounted in position to contact the respective links andprevent the feeder roll on one side from moving over to the oppositeside when the wringer rolls are reversed.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that we have pro vided a wringerassembly embodying simple means for performing the double function ofaiding the feeding of clothes to the wringer rolls and providing awarning by way of movement and non-injurious squeezing pressure againstthe finger of an operator to warn the operator that her fingers and handare dangerously close to the wringer pressure rolls. The mechanism issimple, highly durable,

and economical to install.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

We claim:

I. In a wringer assembly,

a frame,

a pair of pressure rolls mounted in said frame to provide a nip betweensaid rolls and forming a first part,

a first and second drainboard means leading away from opposite sides ofsaid rolls and forming a second part,

a feeder roll,v

mounting means pivotally connected in said frame to swing about the axisof one. of said pressure rolls and carrying said feeder roll in positionto form a variable nip between the feeder roll and one of said parts inposition to be driven by one of said pressure rolls and overlie one ofsaid drainboard means, and

the pivotal connection of said mounting means being sufficiently tightfor the same to automatically carry the feeder roll over the otherdrainboard means when the direction of rotation of said pressure rollsis reversed.

2. In a wringer assembly,

a frame,

a pair of pressure rolls in said frame forming a nip therebetween,

drainboard means projecting away from said rolls,

a shaft for one of said rolls,

a link pivoted to each end of said shaft,

a feeder roll rotatively carried by said links and positioned to form anip with the drainboard means,

a friction gear rotatively carried by each link to drive the feeder rollfrom said one pressure roll and in the.

same direction, and the pivotal connections between said links and saidshaft being sufficiently tight to cause said feeder roll to form a nipwith said drainboard means capable of assisting in feeding material tothe nip of said pressure rolls but insufficiently tight to injure afinger entering the nip between the feeder roll and drainboard means. 3.In a wringer assembly, a frame, upper and lower pressure rollers eachhaving a shaft mounted-in said frame and said rollers together providinga pressure nip, first and second drainboard means leading away fromopposite sides of said pressure nip, and rotary guard means comprising,

linkage means pivotally connected to said shaft of said upper pressureroller for pivotal movement about the axis of said upper pressureroller,

roller means journalled in said linkage means and disposed to overliesaid drainboard means, and means to form a variable nip between saidroller means and an underlying one of said drainboard means comprisingfriction gear means rotatably carried by said linkage means andinterposed between said upper pressure roller and said roller means,whereby said roller means will advance articles introduced into saidvariable nip towards said pressure nip and said linkage means will yieldpivotally upwardly. 4. In a wringer assembly as defined in claim 3, saidrotary guard means constituting a separate linkage means and rollermeans on each side of said pressure nip. 5. In a wringer assembly, aframe, upper and lower pressure rollers each having a shaft mounted insaid frame and said roller together providing a pressure nip, first andsecond drainboard means leading away from opposite sides of saidpressure nip, and rotary guard means comprising a pair of linksconnected to said shaft of said upper pressure roller at opposite endsthereof and extending away from said pressure rollers, a rollerjournalled in said links and spaced closely adjacent an adjoiningdrainboard means to form a nip therewith which will yieldably enlarge bypivotal movement of said links, and friction roller means carried byeach of said links and interposed between said roller and said upperpressure roller to drive said roller rotatably,

said links having a pivotal connection with said shaft so that saidrotary guard means will pivotally swing from one side to the other inresponse to the rotational direction of the pressure rollers. 6. In awringer assembly, a frame, upper and lower pressure rollers each havinga shaft mounted in said frame and said rollers together providing apressure nip, first and second drainboard means leading way fromopposite sides of said pressure nip, and rotary guard means comprising apair of links connected to said shaft of said upper pressure roller atopposite ends thereof,

each said link having a slot in which said shaft is received, and aspring in each slot biasing said shaft towards one end of said slot, anda feeder-guard roller journalled in said links and spaced closelyadjacent said upper pressure roller to form a nip therewith enlargeableagainst the bias of said springs within the limits of said slots toprevent injury while forming a guard in front of said pressure nip, saidpair of links being swingable about the axis of said upper pressureroller and carrying said feederguard roller from a position superjacentone of said first and second drainboard means to a position superjacentthe other of said first and second drainboard means in response to therotational direction of said upper and lower pressure rollers. 7. In awringer assembly, a frame, upper and lower pressure rollers mounted insaid frame and together with one another providing a pressure P, firstand second drainboard means leading away from opposite sides of saidpressure nip, and rotary guard means comprising linkage means pivotallyconnected for pivotal movement about the axis of said upper pressureroller, roller means journalled in said linkage means and disposed tooverlie said drainboard means in nip-forming relation with saiddrainboard means, and means connecting said roller means for corotationwith said upper pressure roller and in the same rotational directiontherewith so that materials introduced into the nip between said rollermeans and said drainboard means will be directed thereby towards thepressure nip.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,737,714 12/1929 Gildea 68-2661,746,053 2/ 1930 Rice.

1,841,057 1/1932 Roberts 68-266 X 1,915,702 6/1933 Tinkham 68-2661,960,755 5/1934 Schuda 68-266 2,102,827 12/1937 Andre 68-266 2,207,4367/1940 Lundstrom 68-266 LOUIS O, MASSEL, Primary Ex'amz'ner,

3. IN A WRINGER ASSEMBLY, A FRAME, UPPER AND LOWER PRESSURE ROLLERS EACHHAVING A SHAFT MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND SAID ROLLERS TOGETHER PROVIDINGA PRESSURE NIP, FIRST AND SECOND DRAINBOARD MEANS LEADING AWAY FROMOPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID PRESSURE NIP, AND ROTARY GUARD MEANS COMPRISING,LINKAGE MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID SHAFT OF SAID UPPER PRESSUREROLLER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID UPPER PRESSUREROLLER, ROLLER MEANS JOURNALLED IN SAID LINKAGE MEANS AND DISPOSED TOOVERLIE SAID DRAINBOARD MEANS, AND MEANS TO FORM A VARIABLE NIP BETWEENSAID ROLLER MEANS AND AN UNDERLYING ONE OF SAID DRAINBOARD MEANSCOMPRISING FRICTION GEAR MEANS ROTATABLY CARRIED BY SAID LINKAGE MEANSAND INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID UPPER PRESSURE ROLLER AND SAID ROLLER MEANS,WHEREBY SAID ROLLER MEANS WILL ADVANCE ARTICLES INTRODUCED INTO SAIDVARIABLE NIP TOWARDS SAID PRESSURE NIP AND SAID LINKAGE MEANS WILL YIELDPIVOTALLY UPWARDLY.